boost to the Ballina area when he announced that Hollister Incorporated, a speciality medical products company, is to invest €80 million at their facility in Ballina. Hollister is one of the largest employers in Ballina and contributed more than €60 million to the Irish economy in 2013. Hollister Ireland was established in Ballina in 1976. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hollister Incorporated and currently employs over 500 people in both new product development and manufacturing.

The Dáil will this week debate a Fianna Fáil motion calling for the full protection of the LEADER scheme and funding for local LEADER companies in Mayo and across the country. Mayo based Fianna Fáil Deputy Dara Calleary has called on Mayo’s four Fine Gael deputies to stand up for community development companies in Mayo, and ensure that funding is protected when changes kick in next month that will see existing programmes integrated with programmes due to begin in 2015.

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, this week said the IDA had confirmed to him that it will to undertake a feasibility study to assess the possible construction of an advance factory in Castlebar in an effort to attract a new major industry to the town. Earlier this year the IDA had announced plans to build similar factories in Letterkenny, Athlone and Waterford. The absence of Castlebar from this list raised the ire of a Labour Castlebar Town Councillor, Harry Barrett who raised the issue at the March meeting of Castlebar Town Council.

There was a widespread welcome to the news that the number of people on the Live Register had fallen for the 20th month in a row, with the numbers on the register in Mayo dropping by six per cent in the last 12 months. Government TD John O’Mahony, in welcoming the news, said this week: “A total of 61,000 net new jobs were created across the country last year. We’ve come from a situation where we were shedding 1,600 jobs per week, to one where we are creating 1,200 jobs per week. The pace of jobs growth over the last year has been very encouraging, and the Government is determined to increase these figures even further in the year ahead.” He did acknowledge that there is still a long road ahead on this front, saying: “While the number of people out of work in Mayo is falling, we still have a long way to go. But I am confident that we can build on jobs growth in the year ahead.”

Mayo Deputy Dara Calleary has expressed his shock and disappointment at the HSE’s failure to recognise the severe ambulance shortage in Mayo. Deputy Calleary questioned HSE management at length at the Oireachtas Health Committee this week about the major gaps in resources for emergency services in Mayo. He outlined a number of cases where patients in need of emergency medical care were waiting far too long for an ambulance to reach them.

Lisa Chambers will launch her campaign for the upcoming local elections in the Welcome Inn Hotel Castlebar next Friday night, February 28, at 9pm. Ms Chambers who was selected by the party to run in the new eight seater Castlebar area, will have her campaign launched by Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Justice, Niall Collins TD, next week. Chambers is hoping to take a seat alongside her two running mates Cllr Al McDonnell and Cllr Blackie Gavin in May’s elections.

A man of the people” and someone who “always endeavoured to do his very best” were just some of the tributes paid yesterday to the late John Carty, who passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 63. The former politician from Knock had served Mayo as Fianna Fáil TD from 2002 until the 2007 general election, and after that as a member of the Seanad from 2007 until 2011 when he decided not to run again. Prior to that Mr Carty had been a county councillor for the Claremorris electoral area. He is survived by his wife Kathleen and their eight children.